good morning. breaking news. at least 31 people are dead after a series of powerful tornadoes wreak havoc across the south and midwest. the onslaught of twisters crushed homes, sent cars, trucks flyinging obliterating one town and leaving stunned survivors in their wake. >> it's just hard. it's hard on everybody. everything's gone. you know, just everything is gone. >> this morning we're live in the disaster zone where as daylight breaks authorities fear they'll discover even more victims. today is saturday, march 3rd, 2012.

good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a saturday morning. i'm lester holt reporting from henryville, indiana, a town that was it lutterly devastated by friday's storms. >> i'm amy robach inside studio 1a. here's what we know. 31 dead, 14 in indiana, 14 in kentucky and three in ohio. that number is expected to rise today. authorities say it's difficult to determine how many people are missing as searchers struggle with the lack of electricity in many areas. >> reporter: more than 85 tornados were reported on friday. it was the second time in a week that storms swept across parts of the nation's midsection. ten states were under some kind of weather threat.

the hardest hit areas are in southern indiana, kentucky, ohio, tennessee, and northern alabama. now, in terms of size, this storm system was enormous. we watched it building all day. it stretched from the gulf coast to the great lakes. it was so side that an estimated 34 million people were at risk for severe weather. that's according to the national weather service, amy. >> and, lester, you were just in harrisburg, illinois. and i know you arrived in henryville about an hour ago. can you describe where you are and what you've about seen? >> reporter: we're about 30 minutes or so from louisville, kentucky. and like so many of these tornado scenes, you know, it just happens upon you. you're driving, everything looks normal, and suddenly you realize the trees are all leveled, the buildings are all down. this is the henryville junior/senior high school. the left side is actually the elementary school. that part was built only about a year ago to tornado standards. you see the buses here in the parking lot? what they had done was realizing

storms were approaching, they emptied out the school. they shut the school down early and sent the children home. there was no tonigrnado reportet that point but they sent children home knowing it was on the way. they decided to bring the kids back and got them inside to safety, and you can see what's left of the bus. we'll tell you more about that story later on. of course, this is one town among many in several states hit by that onslaught of storms that marched through the midsection yesterday. nbc's tom costello is in chelsea, indiana. he's got more from there. tom, good morning. >> reporter: hi, lester. good morning do you. by point of reference we're 30 midnights north of louisville, straight up highway 62. this was a gentleman shed, a family's shed. back there is the home. that's not where the home used to be. it used to bo about 100 yards that way behind the cameraman. what happened is the mother and daughter were gone yesterday

afternoon. the husband was here alone. he saw this massive storm coming. estimates of 150-mile-per-hour winds, maybe an ef-4. he saw this thing coming, realized he could not possibly survive it by staying here, got in his truck, and he started driving. he managed to get away. unfortunately three family members just across the road, they were not so lucky. this is all that's left of henryvillhenr henryvilhenr henryville high school. this indiana town 20 miles north of louisville, kentucky, saw some of the worst of it as a string of powerful storms ripped a path of destruction from northern indiana to southern alabama. the kids got out of school only 15 minutes before the winds ripped it apart. >> we got on the buses and started heading to my house, and the tornado was following us. luckily this woman was so generous to let us stay in her basement. >> the clarke county sheriff's

office describes marrierieysvil gone. this is what it looked like after flattening harvest, alabama. a tornado hit there ten months ago. >> we just got in in january, moved back into the house and getting ready to move that mobile home. it picked it up, turned it around, and slammed it into the house. >> reporter: west liberty, kentucky, didn't have that much time to recover. this is the second deadly storm to hit the town in just 48 hours. in the thick of the storm, hail pelted cars coming down so furiously that they had to pull off the road. power lines and trees are down everywhere, blocking roads and trapping victims of the storms in the middle of the wreckage and keeping rescuers out. for people in this part of the country, it's hard to imagine that so much could be lost and so much damage could be done in just a few short hours.

it's hard. it's just hard on everybody. everything's gone, you know. everything's just gone. >> reporter: here's the headline in the morning paper. it just says it all "terrible tragedy" here in southern indiana. again in this area, chelsea, four people dead. lester, just as we were running the tape record, the sunrise kind of broke over the horizon here and i said to my cameraman, it's just everywhere. the devastation is everywhere. and i'm just now getting a good look at it now that the sunrise is coming up, but throughout this entire farm region, trees are ripped to shreds, homes are gone. it is just a terrible scene. back to you. >> reporter: and as you were talking, i had the same realization. i got here a short time ago. you're right. as we look around, we'll be showing more of this, it is unbelievable. the weather channel's jim cantore is also here in henryville in front of what was a brand-new elementary school. jim, good morning to you.

>> reporter: yeah, good morning, lester. it's hard to believe the same devastation that you and tom are looking at may stretch for 80 miles. this is very similar to the t e types of tornados we had on april 27 of last year and mother nature decided to start in march this year. look at this. you see this house behind me. moved 50 yards, torn right off its foundation. there's debris everywhere, especially trees, pieces of homes. here's the elementary school that you guys are all talking about. you can see the classrooms ripped apart here. this isn't just wood. brick, metal framing just twisted like licorice. 30 minutes before that tornado, there were kids in that classroom. you can't even imagine what that must have been like certainly for ones that were taking refuge in the school down below. it's very much a breaking story. much, much search and rescue has to be done. rural towns and roads haven't been gotten to.

you can see why. piles of debris everywhere you look. winds with this will probably be 170 to 200-plus miles per hour, and we haven't gotten to potentially some of the worst damage yet. 95 tornadoes right now. if that stands, this will not only top the wofrlt outbreak ever in march history of the united states, but it will equal the march average of todays by one day. back to you. >> reporter: it is stunning, isn't it? jim cantore, thanks. henryville's high school as we heard suffered extensive damage. we have the principal, the superintendent of the west park school and troy albert who's the principal of the junior high school. at what point did you order the kids out of school? >> well, the tornado warning had not hit just about the time we had the dismissal.

we had some conversation with the school here and told them it looked good, it looked like it was going to be a while before it hit, thought we could get the children home. they actually got them out, i think, about ten minutes earlier than planned. got most of the kids on buses an got them out. >> you mentioned the buses. before we continue, i want to let folks know here. we see buses wrecked. some of the buses returned with the kids, correct? >> yes. they saw the storm clouds or saw tornadoes forming and returned to school. there were very few students left in school, though these gentlemen can tell it much better than i can. there were very few students left in school, and what students were there, they got them in interior office spaces and they weathered the storm. >> reporter: i want to show very quickly. we have a bus across the lot that blew from this parking lot probably 400, 500 feet. that's how strong it was.

dr. riggs, you were inside. >> we were in our office core. we had about 40 of us in three small offices. basically, you know, we're lying on the floor in the office, and there was like a decompression. it felt almost like your skin was going to be peeled off your face and your ears popped. of course, people were a little upset. some of the children were upset. and then the sound hit, and that was when the tornado hit the building, and it was just crash, bang, break. everything you could imagine. >> reporter: you knew the school was breaking up around you. >> we knew the school was going up around us. and then the ceilings began to kind of fall apart and there was like a dust in there for probably about a minute. and then it did stop. and we know -- we knew at that point, praise god, we were fine. >> reporter: and, troy, you were in another part of the school with another group of students. how were you guys doing? >> we were in the same situation, but it seemed to be a little bit more calm, just

because they were listening and following instructions. we had the 11 students that were on the bus that is in the building over here. >> reporter: the bus that we see embedded in a building, you had kids -- >> there were 11 students that i held the door open, got them inside with their bus driver, the bus driver did an excellent job of getting them there. basically what we did was go into our storm situation, and we had guests in the building and other workers, and we got everybody secured. and then i made a call to the staff, if there's any staff in tilde bein the building, you need to get to a safe area now. >> reporter: any injuries to the kids or staff? >> none. none. >> everybody is safe. not an injury, one. >> reporter: i can only imagine the scene afterward. frightened children, parents wanting to get to their kids.

how did you get them reunited. >> basically we got the kids to the community center after there was a second round of hail. we had baseball-sized hail that was very interesting on what was left of the roof also as far as sound. after that came through, wejts down to the local community center, where we were able to reunite parents and children. we had a lot of kids that would have been here late anyway because of the day care facility we have on campus as well also. >> reporter: i'm sure the parents are glad for what you did with the students and everyone is safe. amazing stories like this, we're going to hear a lot more certainly as we continue throughout the day. >> all right, lester. thanks so much. unfortunately the damage continues for many residents in harvest, alabama. friday's storm is a terrible case of deja vu. nearly one year ago the town was ripped apart by a strong tornado. friday's storm damaged nearly 200 homes. the weather channel's mike seidel is there this morning. good morning, mike. >> reporter: and good morning, amy. a big difference this time around. it was a much weaker tornado and

the huntsville times says it all "damage but no deaths in the aftermath." they're thanking their lucky stars. only injuries and those folks are out of the hospital and at home. no fa tilts. last year, an ef-5 with winds 100 miles or higher came through and destroyed the town. there was a mobile home last year. it was blown to smithereens. it was left back there. yesterday morning, the first tornado of the almost 100 preliminary counted yesterday touched down here and blew the other mobile home the owner put back on the foundation and it's back wrapped around the tree. take a look over here. i talked to the homeowner, kevin moss. he got it reconstructed. his siding got ripped off and the circuit breaker box. big difference this year also is the fact that this tornado was an ef-2 on the fujita scale,

winds estimate at 125 miles an hour. it was on the ground for about 14 miles and 19 minutes. two tornados in this area, two miles north of huntsville, alabama. all in all, alabama did very well in this outbreak compared to last april 27th. amy, this morning, they're happy to feel the cool weather. temperatures around the mid-40s. >> for more on the path of this storm and what's behind all of these tornadoes, we turn to bill karins. bill? >> good morning, amy. there's two questions. one is why did we get such a bad tornado event so early in the season. one of the things to blame is that typically this time of year, we've had snow on the ground throughout the ohio valley. we didn't have that. we didn't have much of a winter. so there was nothing to stop ul f the warm air surging out of the south. we had record-high temperatures in the 80s and mid-80s. in tennessee, mid-80s. in kentucky we had cold air behind the storm. we had the storm system and the

record temperatures. what you really need to get the tornadoes is the winds or the jets fly to spin the thunderstorms, and that's what we had yesterday. it was just all the ingredients came together for like an april or may-type tornado outbreak. right now. with the tornados we could have an isolated tornado or two in the areas of the panhandle of florida. we have damaging winds in the coastal areas of the carolinas, but this severe weather outbreak is over, and, amy, this looks like it will go down as the worst tornado outbreak in our area of the country. we head to politics. the gop has a lot on its plate. we're three days away from super tuesday and the fallout continues. the reverend al sharpton is the host of "politics nation" on msnbc. he joins us this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> the contraception debate reached a fever pitch this week. both santorum and romney came

out and spoke out against limbaugh's tactics, but is this something the republican party needs to deal with right now? >> yeah. they're going to have to deal with it, one, because they have really made rush limbaugh such a great part of the conservative movement. they've called him a great leader of the conservative movement. they had him as an honorary member of kochlk you can't have him as a major spokesman in your movement and then he says something as offensive and ma as this. then he's not even apologized. he's doubled down on this and has gone through a three-day tirade against this young lady that is offensive to everybody. >> well, then we have senator olympia snow from maine. she's a moderate republican. she says she's not going to seek a re-election due to what she

calls a, quote, dysfunction and political modernization. >> that's become the question. the fact that you have people like senator snowe leading, the fact that you have this debate around contraception. we're not talking jobs now in the republican primary. super tuesday and the republican presidential nomination process is this tuesday. we're not talking jobs. we're not talk about how we rebuild infrastructure. we're talking contraception in 2012. and i think that it is that kind of polarized atmosphere that pushed everybody's buttons in politics that said, wait a minute, we need some adults to come in the room or i'm leaving. >> let's talk about super tuesday. the next contest before that is washington state. mitt romney looks like he's going to win that. is that going to give him enough momentum he needs come super tuesday? >> i think it will be just another caucus. but i think what will happen is

all eyes will be on ohio, tennessee, the key states. >> ohio, ohio, ohio again. we know you're leading a march, reverend, this week to comet rate the historic civil rights march there in 1965. why is it important given especially the political environmental we're in right now? >> our civil rights organization is partnering with others because this year we're faced in 34 states voter i.d. laws where they're changing how people can vote. 5 million people according to the brennan institute may be disenfranchised. this is the first time since the '65 march in 47 years that a large segment of the country may lose its right to vote based on state voter i.d. or early voting being eliminated. we're marching not only to co commemorate but face the challenges. for five days we're going to bring the nation's attention

that voting rights are at risk if many people particularly in black and brown communities. >> reverend al sharpton, we appreciate it. now let's get a check to the other top stories an for that we turn to tom llamas at the news desk. >> good morning. there's a standoff between a red cross convoy and the government. nbc's reporter joins us line from beirut. ayman? >> good morning, thomas. that's right. for the second day in a row, they're trying to enter that city of homs, particularly in the district. we understand from the international committee of the red cross, that convoy, a seven-truck convoy carrying 16 million tons of supplies left the capitol on friday morning. they made the two-hour journey under snowfall to the city of homs. once they got there, the government did not let them enter.

some of the eyewitnesss there have described the area as catastrophic. the international community of red cross said it was going overnight to homs and stay there until they're able to get those supplies into the district. tom? thank you so much. the nationwide average for a gallon of gasoline is now $3.75. aaa said it went up again friday for the 24th day in a row. a month ago it was $3.45. gas is still down 9% from the record high of $4.11 in july of 2008. president obama says cleaner cars will bring down the price of gas, but general motors is suspending production of its chevy volt electric car for five weeks because of disappointing sales. even with the tletd of $5 in gasoline, many people can't justify the $41,000 price tag. prince harry has started a seven-day tour. he arrived last night in belize.

they arrived to see the color street party 678 after that he travels to the bahamas, jamaica and brazil. they say it's good to be king, it's good to be prince also. bill karins is back with a check of the weather. >> just amazing stuff. what was different about this one, amy, is that this one was in a lot of rural areas. last year we had the joplin and birmingham and tuscaloosa. this one, small town, usa, is what was hit the hardest. we have damage in a lot of areas like tennessee and kentucky who were hit after dark last night. we'll give you those pictures as we get them. just amazing stuff. things are calming down. we have thunderstorms along the southeast that we have to deal with, but they should not be tornadic. middle of the country, you're fine'r >> it will be a soggy and foggy start to your day. clearing conditions as we go on.

a couple rumbles of thunder. 50 degrees by 10:00 a.m. 58 by 2:00, and 51 and p >> and these that's your weekend forecast. amy. still to come, the latest on the severe storm damage on hard hit indiana but first this is "today" on nbc.

still to come on "today," our expanded coverage from indiana continues with the aftermath of the tornadoes. plus, christy bringly's ex-husband had some harsh words for her during a custody dispute, but first these messages.

>> good morning, everyone. i'm lisa robinson. it is 7:25. here is a look at our top stories.

a strange twist to an early morning shooting in east baltimore. an inmate on work release was shot twice while waiting for a bus on greenmont avenue. he was taken to a hospital where he is in critical condition with wounds to the shoulder and chest. no arrests have been made. >> a baltimore city police officer recovering after an on-the-job injury. sky team 11 suffered this jean scene while attempting to make an arrest. it happened friday evening. it is not clear if officers were able to arrest the suspect. >> baltimore mayor stephanie rawlings-blake has issued an executive order prohibiting police officers from asking about a person's citizenship status. it bars city workers from questioning people about violating federal imfwration law unless required by the state or u.s. government. officials say they are concerned witnesses and crime victims will be afraid to come forward with

information. >> it is just a clarification of our current policy which is not to inquire about the citizenship of individuals, particularly those who are calling for help. >> this comes days after immigration officials say they will be implementing the secure communities program in baltimore. under that program federal authorities checked the immigration status of people booked in local jails. will the rain stick around.ro

>> h.d. doppler showing another

batch of showers moving through the baltimore area. carroll county, baltimore city, harford county, cecil county, and parts of the bay seeing lo light to moderate rain showers at this hour throughout the morning. a couple claps of thunder here and strikes of lightning are possible. as far as current temperatures right now around the area, we are at 50 degrees at the inner harbor. 50 in snapsly. warmest spots on the eastern shore. salisbury 61. way out west, frostburg 39 degrees. as far as the rest of your day is concerned, the rest of the morning, as i said, thundershowers possible. about 50 to 51 degrees. by 2:00 we'll have partly cloudy skies. 58 degrees. then tonight, partly cloudy skies again. temperatures around 45 to 50 degrees. a quick look at your seven-day. it starts warming up by the end of the week. a chance of snow showers tomorrow morning and monday morning. >> thanks, lowell. thank you for joining us. we'll have another update in 25 minutes.

we're back on this saturday morning, march 3rd, 2012. we're looking at a live picture from henryville, indiana. this town is about 20 miles north of louisville. it was one of the hardest-hit areas in friday's storms. there are deaths, injuries, and serious damage. people here at a nearby harvest, alabama, are waking up in disbelief to the devastation and destruction. i'm lester holt, live in henryville this morning. our coverage continues in just a moment, but let's head back to amy now, inside studio 1a. lester coming up this half hour, strengths in numbers. a family is dealing with a medical crisis rarely seen among

siblings. three sisters each diagnosed with breast cancer. they'll share their unique story coming up. first we'll go back to lester where daylight has broken. many of the residents will come out and survey the damage. lester, tell us what you're sigh seeing and what it's like. >> reporter: i could turn in any direction. this area has been laid to waste. the school, the gas station, everywhere you look. it is unbelievable, the force that came through here. there's a school bus, and we showed you this near the top of the broadcast, but it's fascinating, a school bus that was probably tossed 400 or 500 yards and embedded itself in a building, a bus that had been carrying kids to safety only minutes before. that gives you some idea of the force. jim cantore said the winds might have been 170 to maybe 180 miles an hour. let's get more on the story. we'll turn back to bill in new york. is it over? >> it's just about over.

we actually haven't had a confirmed tornado on the ground in a couple of hours, we still have a couple of tornado warnings. one of them is southern portions of georgia right now. we have a tornado warning until 8:00 east coast time here just south of albany, georgia, inbetween albany and valdosta is where it's going to travel across the interstate. and we're looking at cook town for the possible tornado. it's a dangerous storm with rotation. and if there's anyone that still has concerns for possible tornadoes it's going to be from tallahassee to alabama, georgia to the panhandle of florida. anyone driving on interstate 10 could possibly be at risk. the wind threat is beginning to end in the areas of the carolinas as the squall line heads off the coast. the storm that caused this is going up to canada. we could have some damaging wind gusts in areas right along lake erie and lake ontario. as far as the tornado threat, it's a little bit in areas of the south, especially down there

in georgia. back to you. okay. >> well, it will be a rainy start to your saturday. don't be surprised to hear a rumble of thunder. temperatures will be from the high 50's to low 60's. coldest spots in the mountains, now, of course, if you want update ossen these storms or hour by hour forecast you can get it on weather.com. lester, back to you. >> reporter: thanks very much. this is the point where officials have got the daylight and have to figure out what the needs are of those who survived the storm. vicky is with the red cross. vicky, thanks for being with us. what do you know in terms of the number of

assistance. >> at this point, we're still working that out, lester. we're sending disaster assessment teams through the area to determine how many people are going to need our assistance. it looks like we're going to have a long couple of days. >> reporter: what are the main issues? i know power is out in the medimead immediate area. >> yes, correct. as long as there is no power and there's live wires down, that hampers our attempts to get into the neighborhoods and do a full assessment of the damage, but we have been out since daylight this morning. >> th >> this is a small town but people have been spread out here. have you and authorities and searchers gotten to all the neighborhoods a that point? >> not at this point. we're still doing that. what we're doing is providing shelter and providing meals. the other important thing we want to get out is we're providing disaster mental health assistance to people who need a place to come and a warm meal

and someone to talk with and some referrals. >> reporter: they need to talk this out. >> they really do. >> reporter: it's emotional tr trauma they went through. >> it is. people try to stay strong to help their family and friends but they need our assistance. >> reporter: vicky, we'll let you get back to work. thank you for stopping by and talking with us. good luck. >> thank you. >> reporter: we'll be back with more but first these messages. [ female announcer ] with swiffer wetjet, cleaning better, doesn't have to take longer. i'm done. i'm going to... drink this... on the porch! ♪ give me just a little more time ♪ [ female announcer ] mops can be a hassle, but swiffer wetjet's spray cleaner and absorbent pads can clean better in half the time so you don't miss a thing. swiffer. better clean in half the time. or your money back. and for dry messes big and small try swiffer sweeper vac.

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fight through it. brenda, you were first diagnosed five years ago. it went into remission and came back. >> yes. >> shortly after both of your sisters were diagnosed with the disease as well. i can't imagine you could have ever for sene a scenario like this. >> no. when i was first diagnosed i thought as far as statistics go, okay, i can handle it, i can deal with it and they won't have to deal with it, you know, is what i thought. >> they can just help you with it. >> i thought, i'm done. i've done it. them it was just shocking to then hear she was diagnosed and then kathy. that was very hard. >> angel, i know all three of you tested positionive for the breast cancer gene, but you didn't find out until later. do you wish now you would have taken a more aggressive approach into determining if you had the gene? >> well, i actually did. i went through the process. halfway during the process they broke the test tube. back then they did it with blood samples, and i just did not go

back. >> you didn't follow up. >> i didn't follow through. it's very easy now with a swab test? and i'm sure you're a big advocate for that now. >> absolutely. >> brenda, i know your mother passed away several years ago, cancer of the appendix, correct? before she died, she said, i finally realize what could be worse than this, if one of you girls had this. that brings tears to my eyes, because i know you're probably thankful she didn't have to live to see through but on the other hand everyone wants their mom to go through this. it's bittersweet. >> i feel like she's with me indefinitely. i have a ring. >> and i have her ring, too, a wedding ring. >> part of her is going through this. >> helping us. >> what has this experience taught you, brenda? >> it's kathleen. >> i'm so sorry, kathleen. >> the experience has taught me that women all over the world all over the world need to go out and be tested. no matter how fearful they are, they have to be tested.

early detection does make such a huge difference. if you don't get the right answers you need to get a second opinion. >> dr. wrightman, i want to talk about genetic testing. is this only for those with a history but can anyone? >> anyone can do it but i think it's important to select the population of people you're going to screen. it's important to look at family history. one thing we doctors really need focus on is not only when we see patients annually and discuss what's new with their family history but what's new with their family medical history. is there a history of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, pan cree yachtic cancer, colon cancer. if sew tho, that will be a gene factor. there are things that can be followed and things done to prevent it from developing. >> if you do test positive for the gene, are you absolutely going to get cancer? >> no, not at all. in fact, depending on the mutation that's present, women

obviously have a risk of developing breast cancer and that riff kk be anywhere from 40% to 80%. we now know there are certain behavioral modifications that may take place that may alter the chances that someone may actually get breast cancer. in addition there are medications people could possibly take and people could be more proactive and screening more frequently. >> kathleen, angel, brenda, how are you all doing? >> i'm in the middle of radiation. every day is different. put a smile your honor face and do your best. >> and i'm in the middle of still having surgery, reconstructive surgery, so i'm not moves this arm too much. but, yeah. i'm feeling good. you know, we look okay right now, of course. >> you look fabulous. you look better than okay. >> and i just had my surgery at the mayo clinic in arizona about 30 days ago and just had all my drainage tubes pulled out three days ago. >> my goodness.

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welcome back. it should be an exciting time for a high school student in florida. the valedictorian is waiting to hear if she's been accepted to an ivy league college. she's also waiting to hear if a judge will force her to return to her native country. more from our reporter. >> it's frustrated. >> reporter: with a 6.7 gpa she was hoping for an acceptance letter from brown university and yale burke what she got instead was a deportation letter. >> it's just really sad to know that someone who has put so much into something and she's so good has to fauce that difficulty. >> she's one of the finest students i've ever had, and i've been at this school for 23 yearses. >> reporter: born in colombia, daniela came to the u.s. when

she was 4. she and her sisters' multiple request have be been denied. because of dan ella's immigration status, she hasn't seen her mother money than five years since she returned to colombia for cancer treatment. you've worked so hard to get here and yet now your dreaming are being held back. how do you feel the system is treating you at this point? >> college acceptances come out april 1st, so it's like that's been the goal and now it's being almost shattered. >> reporter: monday a federal judge gave daniela a month to leave the country voluntarily or be deported. later i.c.e. released this statement. i.c.e. will not take any action against them while they pursue additional legal optionsle. upon conclusion of their appeal, i.c.e. will review it. without legal status, sparing deportation is no permanent fix for students likedaniela. >> many realize they can't get jobs.

>> reporter: many are pinning their hopes on the d.r.e.a.m. act. the d.r.e.a.m. act has failed in congress time and again. >> we're being qualified to go to a four-year college. >> reporter: now she's wondering not where she'll spend the next four years but possibly the rest of her life. for "today," lilia luciano, nbc, miami. it was a story of a new jersey mobster named tony soprano and from 1999 to 2008 viewers were gripped by the hbo mega hit "the sopranos, a" and w in an expensive look behind the act. they're talking about the characters, the show, and the controversial finale.

you call that an ending? forget about it. the screen goes blank after mob boss tony soprano looks up while sitting with his family in a diechber. it still has people talking and even some of the actors didn't get it at first. >> what are you thinking? >> in the april issue of ""vanity fair,"" the cast of the popular mob series shared some of the secrets including james gandolfini. he says, after all i went through, all this death, and then it's over like that? eventually he changed his mind calling the ending perfect. >> whether you want to believe whether he's alive or dead, you get to write your own ending. >> i wanted something else in my life. >> fans will remember tony's wife carmela who struggled with the mobster life. she got so into her character she had to struggle with something else. she said it was weird to sit down at a table read with the

actresses playing tony's girlfriends. occasionally i would get a sharp twinge at the back of my neck. >> they began to react with each other as if they were the characters. >> just calm down, okay? >> playing a mobster wasn't all fun and games. tony, aka once pleaded with the show's creator not to have him murder a woman. he said if i get shown killing a woman,ite going to make me look bad. >> that violence was very real. >> a point underscored by began doll feeny. i don't think the violence looks appealing at all. >> isn't that what you said one time? try to remember the times that were good? >> i did? >> yes. >> well, it's true, i guess.

that song wouldn't stop playing over and over in my head an it looks like that's going to happen again. >> something that you learn from the actors, the range they had because they were mobsters in this role and now they've done so much else. >> fantastic actors. i can still go back and watch the dvd. i haven't seen it all. there's still more time. just ahead, tv drama. this time off jean. actress nicollette sheridan is in a legal batter with the creators of the "desperate housewives." first this is "today" on nbc.t

still to come on "today," we'll get the latest on the damage and devastation across the midwest and south following a series of strong storms and tornados. and then later, protecting yourself from online scams. what you need to know to avoid cyber crooks. but first these messages. (bell rings)

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>> good morning. i'm jennifer franciotti. the time is 7:55. here is a look at some of our top stories. there are reports that operations will be suspended at the tin mill at the sparrows point steel meal. it shut down just before christmas and laid off 720 workers. the mill restarted production earlier this year after receiving financing from a new york hedge fund. union officials are quouth quoted as saying market conditions contributed to the shutdown. there is no word yet on exactly how long the shutdown will last. r.g. steel is not commenting on these latest reports. >> anne arundel county scul executive john leopold has been indicted on misconduct in office. according to the inindictment he used members of his police authority to he is court him to rend views in parking -- for

sexual rendevouses in parking lots. >> the only forum for discussing these issues is in court, not the press. >> leopold is also accused of turning police officers into pliling political workers for the sole purpose of removing, placing, and replacing campaign signs. >> dozens gathered for a vigil in dundalk to remember the maryland soldier killed in afghanistan. family and friends of major robert marchante held a vigil many called a soft-hearted warrior. the teacher was one of two soldiers murdered in afghanistan after u.s. troops mistakenly burned copies of the koran. >> can we expect on and off showers throughout the day? lowell

>> we can expect on and off rain showers throughout the morning becoming partly cloudy this afternoon. don't be surprised to hear a couple rumbles of thunder and some strikes of lightning here and there. temperatures will be pretty good though. mid to upper 50's to low 60's in spots. even the coldest areas will be out in the mountains. ocean city should be all right as well. taking a closer look at how our day will ship up, variable clouds, as i said, morning clouds and or thunderstorm thunderstorms. winds pick up out of the southwest. don't be surprised to see a gust. temperatures anywhere from 55 to 61 degrees. so not bad for the beginning of march.

>> thank you, lowell. thank you for joining us. i'll have another update for you in 25 minutes. see you then. welcome back to "today," saturday morning. it's the 3rd day of march 2012. i'm lester holt in henry ville, indiana. you're looking live at what's left of the school in this small indiana town. this is only part of the damage. on friday powerful storms stretching from the gulf coast to the great lakes flattened homes. at least 31 people are dead, a number that's expected to rise now that it's daylight and crews can renew their search. amy? >> i know, lester, you arrived just a short time ago. it was dark when you got there and you talked about when the

sunrise rose, what you saw pretty much in every direction. >> reporter: i got here a little before daybreak, so when you looked around, you saw just these silhouettes of what appeared to be this kind of moonlight scape, but then as the sunrise came up, we could see everything in ruins. this is the school. it's the elementary, high school, junior high. it's a complex of schools. the school itself let out early but some kids couldn't make it home safely in time and took shelter with teachers. school buses tossed about, cars. this is a road sign here. but this looks like a big air conditioning unit that was on top of the school. everywhere you look, trees down, bark from terese. no official reading but looking around you don't have to be a scientist or meteorologist to know this was incredibly massive. it did a lot of damage. it is daybreak. we saw the choppers up a moment ago. the search continues now for victims, and the fear is not

only in this community but other communities across the midwest and south that were hit by this. they might find more victims as we go throughout the day. now, our coverage of the damage continues in just a moment, but first we want to go back to amany i back in new york. >> lester, we're also going to head to ohio to another small town where today is a day of reflection. students, friends, and family are coming together after a vie lel lent tragedy. plus online scam. people looking to get your money. you can become a victim just by clicking on the wrong link these days. to find out how to avoid getting ripped off by internet schemes we'll have that coming up in just a moment. but first let's head back to lester in henryville. lester? >> reporter: amy, i want to introduce you to a couple of survivors. steve and betty, thanks for being with us. there's a house back there, that's your house. >> yes.

>> reporter: the roof is gone. not much left. tell us the warning you had before this hit and what you did. >> well, we had been watching the news and local weather, and they said -- actually they said it was going to go farther north of here, maybe about a half a mile or so, and then all of a sudden, they gave a location, which is just up 160, which is this road right here, and so i put her in the basement. i checked on the deck on the back of the house. all of a sudden i started hearing the typical thing of a tornado, that would be the freight train. and i heard the principal get on the p.a. because there were people in the, parking lot. >> he said, everybody get in the building right now. i saw debris flying. i went down in the basement. to be perfectly honest with you, the devastation that you see here was probably in my mind no

more than 30 second s. >> reporter: and you've got all these vehicles flying all around you, the roof of your home is ripped off. how safe were you in the basement, betty in. >> for a split second it was kind of terrifying, but we were really blessed because we weren't hurt, but the noise, the popping, you know, things that were falling, we could hear it, but we were perfectly all right. >> reporter: and you have a collection of dolls and memorabilia including this angel i saw you bring out of the house. >> and we have wonderful friends and family. that's the most important thing to get you through these things. >> i came up and said, okay, the school is gone. she said, but thank the lord that we're still alive. that's the most important thing there is. >> reporter: what were you thifrmging about the kids as you looked at the school? >> when i came out after hearing the principal say because there were about 20 people outside. saw this and the first thing that came to my mind was they're

trapped or dead, vehicles are turned over or whatever. >> they had let the school out just a little before 3:00. we were concerned because we saw all these buses as they were saying the tornado was on the ground, coming our way. we were praying that the kids would be able to get home. >> reporter: our understanding is some of the buses were taking kids away and they turned around when they saw the clouds and got inside thankfully. we're glad you two are okay. >> the best thing is things can be replaced, but with all this devastation, there's no more fatalities than what there were in the area. we didn't have any here, thank heaven. >> let people know there's a message of hope. life does go on. >> reporter: thank you both for talking to us. we appreciate it. best of luck to you. >> take care. >> reporter: and the rescuers are searching for survivors. daylight, powerful storms not only in indiana, ohio, kentucky, and alabama. 31 people we know are dead. at least one town in this area

has been completely flattened. nbc's tom costello is in chelsea, indiana, not far from us. tom, good morning. what's happening there? >> reporter: lester, good morning. 30 miles up state highway in louisville, kentucky. just stunning. four people died in this general area. where i'm standing this is the foundation for a home. take a look. that's the front porch over there. i want to show you where the home ended up. you have to be very careful, of course, because you can step on a nail as you're walking through here. by the way, take a look. all these trees are shredded. as you continue walking, here's where the home ended up all the way down here. it's as if that storm pick up that home and literally dumped it about a hundred yards or so down the hill. and what's also striking -- again, i want to emphasize that people who lived here survived, but their belongings, of course,

now -- maybe they're not their belongings, but other people's belongings are just strewn about, everything from a ball of yarn that's here from someplace, a child's toy is here as well. and this is the way it looks throughout this entire region in this part of southern indiana as homes have been ripped apart, trees are shredded, and people are waking up on a very cold morning about 35 degrees here to try to piece through all of this. lester, back to you. >> reporter: tom, thanks very much. we were watching those watches and warnings extending well into the night and even this morning. let's go to meteorologist bill karins now in new york who's been watching this. bill, have we seen pretty much the end of this line of stormsome. >> well, we had a break, lester, but now it looks like we're getting back into it. the threat isn't as great as it was yesterday. it only takes one tornado, it could even be a small one that could take a life or two or destroy a row of houses. if you're on the south,

southeast side of georgia, you're under a tornado warning. a very strong storm. this is in between putny and sylvester. if you're in between putny and sylvester, you need to take your family and get to a safe room now. that storm is going to be heading over you. you're in a tornado watch until 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. it will continue into this afternoon. especially app alachicolapalach. a very strong storm. not as bad as yesterday but the thrill still continues. back to you. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. time now for a check of the morning's other tom stories. for your that we turn to tom llamas at the news desk. much of the presidential focus is on super tuesday, but washington state holds its caucuses today. mitt romney has been shorts in the caucus states so far but more than 2,400 people packed a building in bellevue which was

packed with enthusiasm to hear stump speech. >> if i'm lucky enough to get in the white house, i won't be playing -- i won't be playing 90 rounds of golf in my first term, that's for sure. getting good jobs for you will be the job i care most about. i want to have more jobs and less debt and smaller government. that's what my theme is going to be. >> it turns out romney and rick santorum will not split the delegates evenly. they decided after the election to give romney two more delegates sparking outrage in santor santorum. >> anything to win after the fact, break the rules, rewrite the rules, that's not the way republicans or conservatives do it. >> on tuesday the gop will battle in other states to decide who will face president obama in november. federal agents have arrested more than two dozen people in the united states and china in

one of the largest every. they've been trying to bring in fake burberry, coach, gucci, and ugg products through the port of newark, new jersey. coming up, we'll have more on how you can protect online consumer scams. >> bp is weighing to see if more than 100,000 victim os testify gulf oil spill will reach settlement or opt out and sue. they plan to pay almost $8 billion to fishermen who lost work, clean-up workers who became ill and others whoever were hurt by the worst offshore oil spill in the nation's history. and a russian bear is quickly becoming an internet sensation. he livings at a zoo in central russia and his keeper says he's a real kung fu master. he started practicing martial arts when he was a cub. this is no joke. it looks like he could give the kung fu panda some competition. got to be careful there.

that's the news. now let's get back to amy and bill. >> as if the claws weren't enough, now we have to deal with a kung fu stick. that's pretty good. tom, thanks so much. there he goes. keep practicinpracticing, buddy. bill karins back with a look at your weekend forecast. how's it looking? >> it's looking better. we dealt with two tornado outbreaks. what a start. this is on the heels of one of the worst tornado seasons ever last year. let's hope we get a big break here. we should. we have a threat in georgia. otherwise it's a pretty quiet tranquil weekend. we're pretty much done with the threat of those really big powerful >> it will be a soggy and foggy start to your day. clearing conditions as we go on. a couple rumbles of thunder. 50 degrees by 10:00 a.m. 58 by 2:00, and 51 and p

>> that's your saturday forecast. amy? less than a week ago a teenager walked in a cafeteria of chardon high school in suburban cleveland and opened fire with hand gun killing three boys and injuring two more students. now that school and the community are trying to get back to a routine in a town that, of course, will never be the same. nbc's kevin tibbles is in chardon this morning. good morning, kevin. >> reporter: amy, people here in chardon say that a sense of normalcy will help the healing process, but they also know it's going to take a long time. in the aftermath of the unthinkable, the children of chardon return to school. >> we're going to stay together and that's going to help us move

on. >> reporter: and as their buses pulled up, students from surrounding schools came to show their support. >> i think overall it was very emotional, and it was -- it just proves how strong our community and our support group really is. >> reporter: when the chardon hilltoppers took to the court thursday night hundreds cheered them on. their opponents wore chardon t-shirts and all stood together as one before a chardon victory. >> it's really remarkable how these kids have an innate wisdom for what they need for resiliency and healing. >> reporter: while the flowers and memorials will eventually go, two shooting victims left a lasting legacy. they were able to donate their vital organs. 16 people will benefit from these gifts. the family of russell king say so far his gift has saved eight

lives, including a small child. his heart still beats. mourners lined up to say good-bye to 16-year-old danny par me ter. his funeral is saturday. he wanted everyone to hear his laughter. and the mother of demetrius, he would have turned 17 next week. she says she has already for given the alleged shooter. >> if you don't forgive, you hold that in your heart. you have that memory of your child and you've gotten that hatred in your heart. you know, this is for my son. this is for my son. >> reporter: as a small ohio town grieves, those who live here work together to move forward. and that first funeral, the funeral of danny parmeter, the young boy we saw laughing in the story, is scheduled for this afternoon. thousands of people are expected to come out into the streets to attend, and there's going to be another candlelight vigil right

here in the town square later on this evening. amy? >> all right. kevin tibbles, thank you. and we're back, but first these messages. ♪ [ gasps ] ♪ [ laughs ]

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looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. what started as a whisper among friends haas turned into a loud roar. we're talking about a racy new novel called "50 shades of gray." be warned. it contains graphic subject and language. it's appealing to more women than you might imagine, and it may answer that age-old question, what do women really want? there's a dirty little secret in the suburbs. >> i guess it's kind of like, ooh. i was just breathless. >> and it's not the change of a diaper. >> it was very captivating, i have to say. things were going around and i could not stop. >> the truth may shock you. but the fantasy isn't in a tropical paradise.

it's in a book club. >> fastest read ever. nine years haven't read a book. >> shaun said what are you doing? is it the computer or the ipad. i said nothing. >> and what's going on between those covers has to do with a story between the sheets. it's called "fifty shades of grey," and if you're thinging fab yeo, forget about it. this is by a 40-something british woman. it's not a romance. it's a submission sex fantasy. >> the most common women fantasy is a domination fantasy or submission where she's swept off her feet, it's out of her control. >> sex therapist laura berman said she's not surprised the bodici ripper is back. >> if you look back it's about

empowering women not to be submissive to men. now we move onto to a new generation where women are more empowered than ever before, the glass ceiling is broken and we have as much control as we want. what are we longing for? a little bodi krbodice ripping. >> these women agree. although they like control in the boardroom, they would look more in the bedroom. >> it's nice to have a man take over than you having to please hem after you made dinner and did everything. >> but the word of caution about taking the fantasy into reality. >> it's one thing to fantasize about your neighbor when they're mowing the lawn, it's another thing to really want to act on that fantasy. >> although these 50 shades fans say their husbands are not complaining. >> my husband and i shared some very good times together because of this book. >> and maybe the book should land on the other side of the nightstand that every man should read the book. >> if men only read it maybe

there wouldn't have be such fantasy. >> you might imagine we have been getting a huge viewer response about "50 shades of grey" on the website. one accuses the writer of plaj your rising. we can confirm james was the author of that story. still ahead, "desperate housewives" actress is on trial. first this is "today" on nc.

still to come on "today," storm aftermath. we're live in indiana as our coverage of the defer station continues. plus name-calling and finger-pointing in court. christie brinkley's latest battle with her ex-husband gets nasty. but first these messages. 50% an.

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not in my house. with maxwell house french roast, you let gravity do the work. [ male announcer ] maxwell house french roast. always good to the last drop. anti-aging cream undeniably. it creamed unbelievably a $500 cream. and now women have made regenerist microsculpting cream also unscented. women love it. in original and also fragrance-free. >> good morning. i'm jennifer franciotti. the time is 8:25. here's a look at some of our top stories for you. a strange twist to an early morning shooting in east

baltimore. an inmate out on work release was shot twice while waiting for a bus. it happened in the block of greenmont avenue friday morning. he was taken to a hospital where he's listed in critical condition with wounds to the shoulder and chin. so far no arrest have been made. >> meanwhile a baltimore city police officer is recovering after an on-the-job injury. sky team 11 caught this scene as the officer suffered non-life threatening injuries while attempting to make an arrest. it happened on appleton street before 5:30 evening in baltimore. it is not clear bl the sfrs were able to arrest the suspect. >> baltimore mayor stephanie rawlings-blake issued an executive order prohibiting police officers from asking about a person's citizenship status. that order bars you from questioning people suspected of violating federal immigration law unless required by the state or u.s. government. >> sfls say they are concerned witnesses and crime victims will be afraid to come forward with

information. >> it is just a clarification of our current policy which is not to inquire about the citizenship of individuals, particularly those who are calling for help. >> this comes days after immigration officials said they would begin implementing the secure communities program in baltimore. under that program, authorities check the immigration status of

>> we're going to see on-and-off off rain throughout the morning with conditions clearing as we head into the afternoon. we'll start to see the sun

peeking through. as far as the rest of the date, pretty much the same story. we could see strikes of lightning and hear rumbles of thunder drouth throughout the morning as rain showers move through. we'll probably top out around 60 and 70 in the mon mountains. ocean city p. 59 to 60 degrees. the humidity pretty high. we'll feel 5 to 6 degrees warmer than these temperatures. looking at our forecast, variable clouds today. afternoon thunderstorms giving way to partly cloudy skies. winds west. gusts probably around 25 miles per hour. temperatures 55 to 61 degrees. if you head out tonight, could see a stray shower under partly cloudy skies. wind will die down out of the west. temperatures will be anywhere from 40 to 45 degrees and then heading into early tomorrow morning, a possibility for a little bit of snow. >> thanks, lowell. thank you for joining us. "11 news saturday morning" starts in 25 minutes.

we're back on this saturday morning, march 3rd, to2012. it's a cool damp day but we have people out on the block. we want to thank them for coming up to see what's shaping up to be not too bad of a day here in new york if you don't mind a little drizzle. outside on the plaza i'm amy robach. lester holt is in henryville, indiana. a much different scene there, lester. now that the sunrise has risen, are people coming out to see what's happened? >> reporter: yeah. people are coming out, making

sure everyone is accounted for. 14 people here in indiana died, but none in this school. that's remarkable when you look around. this was a high school. there was another wing that was the elementary, another part that was the junior high school. but it was utterly demolished here. this parking lot was full of cars. now they're scattered about, overturned as piles of cars up against the school over there. and then if i take you over here, look at this bus. the school bus had brought students back after they had left the school, they realized -- saw the storm, realized they couldn't get any farther, came back. look what happened. knock off its chassis. imagining something so powerful. let me take you around. i mentioned this earlier. any direction you look, there's damage. the trees here, everything. the bark has been ripped from the trees. there's another school bus into the building over there. i could take you in any direction, and this town, the center of this town is destroyed, amy.

folks are walking around. they've got that stunned look, that shocked look. we saw it the other day when i was covering tornados in harrisburg. it happened so quickly. even though there's some warning that this thing is coming. when you're in the middle, people just describe that freight train sound and the horror of the pressure as the ears begin to pop and they're riding it out, hoping to survive. we'll hear a lot of stories. the red cross here trying to account for folks, take care of survivors, get them into shelters. they've got a lot of work to do here and a lot of searching to continue. >> they're thankful that they're there and we wish them well. also coming up this half hour we'll be talking about the "desperate housewives" trial, a trial surrounding the offscreen drama. it's a dispute between former star nick ouellette sheridan and the show's creator. christie brinkley is dealing

with her own drama. she and her ex-husband peter cook are fighting over child support. it invieweds name called, finger pointing. we'll have the details. >> we'll tell you how to stay safe on cyberspace. we'll show you what happened to a woman with online dating. first let's get a check of the weather. bill, no one told me it was raining out here. >> a little sprinkle. >> enough to ruin the hair. i'm kidding. >> next time. good morning, everyone. we had all the horrible tornado damage and everything happened. overnight things died off. we have minor concerns down there in areas of southern georgia. that's where we have a chance to get isolated tornadoes. i don't think we'll get the big strong ones but we still have a chance of the weaker tornadoes, and even those can knock down trees and knock out power and be light-threatening. as we go through tomorrow that

storm system will be long gong. the southeast coast could deal with rain. it's going to be very cold in the northern plains. remember it's still winter. it's hard to believe. in the north, still unsettled for you. it shouldn't be too wet tomorrow. a little bit of improving >> well, it will be a rainy start to your saturday. don't be surprised to hear a rumble of thunder. temperatures will be from the high 50's to low 60's. coldest spots in the mountains, all right. a wonderful little group here. who are you with? >> we're from nashville. >> from nashville, correct? >> yeah.

>> you dodged a big storm. have fun in new york. let's go back inside. >> all right, bill. thank you. now to the real life drama of former "desperate housewives" actress nicollette sheridan. she's suing the show's executive producer for wrongful termination. it from she faced cross-examination for the first time. nbc's miguel almaguer reports from los angeles. >> reporter: actress nicollette sheridan turned star witness friday on the stand during her wrongful termination lawsuit she told the jury she was hit in the head by the show's executive producer mark cherry, then fired later for complaining about the incident. during cross examination, she was visiticly annoyed when defense pointed out she originally claimed she was slapped and then testified he hit. i have always said he hit me. it was a hit. this was ridiculous to me. >> reporter: for many she may be

more familiar as edy. the sexy [ screaming she questioned a script. she said cherry pulled her aside, struck her across the head with his hand, something she re-enacted in court on her own attorney. he stepped toward me and took his right hand and hit me upside the head. it was a nice wallop across the head. but in court documents cherry's attorney said it was a light tap. she was asking about his behavior just minutes before the alleged incident. was he yelling, no, was his face, red, no. abc said they looked into the incident but found the actress wasn't mistreated. just a few months after she complained to tv executives, the tv tell tress said she was shocked when her character was suddenly killed off.

sheridan's suing for $6 million. >> this case does boil down to a he said, she said. the jurors are going to have to decide who they believe. >> reporter: desperate how wives is now in its final season, but this week it seems there's more drama in the courtroom than on the set. for today, miguel almaguer. to another batter, this one involving christy brinkly and her ex-husband peter cook. more now from nbc's michelle franzen. >> reporter: the war of the exes is getting ugly -- again. former supermodel christie brinkley and ex-husband peter cook are taking their battle over child support back to court. each claiming the other owes them money. adding fuel to the feud, cook lays out a long list of complaints against brinkley since their vicious divorce in 2008.

she ca . >> he's drafted a 91-page rambling diatribe. cook's complaints were in a petition last november claims he owed more than $6,000 in child support for their children jack and sailor. bringly is also asking to reimbursed for more than $32,000 in education expenses and pending fines for sending inflammatory e-mails. cook's attorney says he's always received inflammatory e-mails. >> this is a lot of nonsense, and what miss brinkley really wants is another round of publicity. >> reporter: he says cook has since paid the child support and didn't thing he owed the money in the months he cared for children while brinkley was starring in the musical "chicago." >> it was a misconception. >> reporter: brinkley has sole custody of both children, an agreement reached following their very bitter and public

divorce trial. even after all that, celebrity divorce experts say it seems both are ready to go another round. >> people can't let go. it keeps going on and on. and the final inning they'll be fighting till they're 80 years old probably. >> reporter: for "today," michelle franzen, nbc news, new york. coming up next, online scams. meet a woman who was looking for love online but found fraud instead. but first these messages. ♪ our machines help identify early stages of cancer and it's something that we're extremely proud of. you see someone who is saved because of this technology, you know that the things that you do in your life, matter. if i did have an opportunity to meet a cancer survivor, i'm sure i could take something positive away from that. [ jocelyn ] my name is jocelyn, and i'm a cancer survivor. [ mimi ] i had cancer. i have no evidence of disease now. [ erica ] i would love to meet

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this morning on today's consumer, online scam. it can be the perfect breed ground looking to rip you off. janice lieberman joins us with the story of a woman who found herself face to face with an attempted scheme. good morning. >> that is scary stuff. the better business bureau released its list of the most common places you'll find scams. among them social media and online dating. carol crohn decided to join online dating but the person she was chatting with made her think twice. you can log online to find just about anything, information, a new job, the perfect date. but if you aren't careful, what you discover could be more than you bargained for, like the false promise of romance. 64-year-old carol crohn joined

match.com and the first man she meant seemed promising. >> he'd send me love poems and sites, listen to this song because this is how i feel about you. this guy, it's like he's too good to be true. >> pages and palges and e-mails it turnses out he was. >> good morning, sweetheart, i don't know to say this. i could use some help. can you loan me $4,500. she realized he wasn't the man he was and turned him down. she thinks her age was part of the reason she was targeted. >> older women that they look at and say, oh, she's really desperate, she wants somebody, this would be an esmark. >> they spend more time online than any other age group and the number of seniors logging on is increasing so it makes sense for con artists to look to the web. >> they're counting on you reacting quickly. so you click on their links and

before you know it, it's like opening the door to your virtual home. >> despite these risks, the web can still be the place to go for romance. even carol has kept her account on match and is going on dates. >> once somebody starts asking you for money, it's not right. you should. have to pay somebody for their attention. >> as we said, carol is still going on with some dates with men she met on match but she's careful to who she talks to and she knows not to let her guard down. if you're going to log on, let people know where you're going, tell relatives and friends so you keep it safe. >> and in terms of any financial security, is there anything proactively we can do to keep our checking accounts and our financial information secure? >> especially when it comes to job scams and job applications, don't use a debit card because they can access your account immediate immediately. use a credit card. >> janice lieberman, always great advise. thank you. now here's tom.

thanks, amy. next, how do you avoid scammers? today mario armstrong joins us with what you might actually see pop up on your computer and tips on what you shouldn't click. when you're on a website and you're about to enter personal information, what should you look for? is there any way to tell whether that is safe or not? >> there's a couple of things. when you say personal information, that could easily be your log-in information. it doesn't have to be banking or credit card stuff. just logging in you want to make sure you see the https. the "s" stands for secure. look for the pad lock that lets you know you're on an official site. >> one of the ways we can be steered to another website is through one of our favorite sites when we click on a link. how do we know the links are safe. sometimes they're called bit leads. >> that's right. what happens is a fraudulent website -- we're not saying this

one is -- for example, they'll take a long web address and that's normally what happens when you have a fraudulent site. what they'll do is string that and abbreviate it and abbreviate ichlt it will look like a very small abbreviation like this. however, you have no idea where that's going to take you. >> you don't know where you're clicking. >> is it really going to go to chase bank? is it really going to paypal? where is it really going to go? when you click that, that ends up sending you to a fraudulent site that looks legit and looks okay and you start filling out inform snoogs this is sometimes called phishing but with at p-h. how does that happen. >> you can get a text message or e-mail message. in this case this is something coming from paypal. it would say, hey, we need you to update your account and reverify but if you look closely at the url the web address is

all wrong. it's not legit. it's meant to try to pull sensitive data from you and get you to fill out this information. then what they'll do is open up accounts in your name or do damage. >> are there any types of sites you should avoid that cater to this type of phishing? >> this is from wachovia. this is a fake alert from wachovia that would come into your e-mail account. that looks like a legitimate e-mail coming from wachovia to upgrade your account. it's very, very hard. there isn't a black list that says avoid these sites and you'll be safe. >> i was telling you during the break this happened to me. i had to go to best buy to spend hundreds of dollars to get your computer fixed. you told me that's not that much. >> there are people who have to go through damage credit, filing all types of charges to get their money back. using debit cards and things

online, they're finding their checking account is getting tapped. >> thank you so much. up next, dinner and a movie at the same time? how movie theaters are expanding their menus. but first this is "today" on nbc.

welcome back. over the years hollywood has taken movies from silent and black and white and developed them into blockbuster experiences. but little has changed for movie-goers until now. and we will be trying to get that piece to you, of course. we were talking a little bit about popcorn and soda. movies have gone much more beyond that. we'll try to get that story for you. in the meantime we'll be right back. here's to more saturdays in the sun.

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but no one perhaps could have imagined it was this bad. 31 lives so far, we know in the several states that were hit by these storms yesterday. the searching will continue. we'll have a full update tonight on the "nbc nightly news" live from indiana and, of course, across the region. we'll invite you to join us. for now i'm lester holt. from amy and all of us, thank you for watching. >> all right, lester, thank you so much. we also want to thank tom llamas and bill karins. and phenomenal reporting from lester in indiana. of course, he'll be live there tonight for "nightly news" as well. and back here tomorrow as well. have a great day, everyone. we'll see you tomorrow. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

[captioning made possible by constellation energy group] >> good morning. welcome to "11 news saturday morning." i'm lisa robinson. >> and i'm jennifer franciotti. a strange twist to an early morning shooting in east baltimore. investigators say an inmate out on work release was shot twice while waiting for a bus on the 900 block of greenmont avenue. he was taken to a hospital where he is listed in critical condition with wounds to the shoulder and chest. police have not made any arrests. >> a baltimore police officer recovering after an on-the-job injury. the officer suffered

non-life-threatening injuries while attempting to make an arrest. it happened just before 5:30 last night. a suspect was arrested on the scene. >> family and friends remember a soldier many call a soft-hearted warrior. robert marchante was one of two people killed in afghanistan. >> he was my guidance counselor and everything to me. >> robert marchant leaves behind a wife and four children. >> john leopold indicted for misconduct. >> and a tornado wipes out several towns. live to indiana for the latest. >> a couple showers moving

through the viewing area. your insta-weather plus forecast in a couple minutes. >> and the author of this book joins us with insightful meditation on how changing the way we think can improve our daily lives. stay with us.

>> good morning. >> good morning. welcome to